John Stockton sank a 20-foot jumper from the top of the key with
2.3 seconds remaining and the Utah Jazz hung on to defeat the
Vancouver Grizzlies for the 10th straight time, 89-88.

Vancouver had a chance to win the game on its last possession,
but an inbounds pass by rookie Antonio Daniels intended for Blue
Edwards was intercepted by Jeff Hornacek.

"I think we felt secure with the lead and were less aggressive
offensively. They took full advantage of that and were very good
down the stretch," said Stockton. "On the last play we didn't
draw up anything new. We have things we're comfortable with and
we try to play off each other. Sometimes, that's better than
drawing something up because things change while you're out
there."

Prior to Stockton's basket, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who had 31
points and 10 rebounds, gave the Grizzlies an 88-87 lead with
6.2 seconds left with a jumper in the lane over Karl Malone.

Malone's driving layup with just under 10 minutes left in the
fourth quarter had given the Jazz a 73-60 lead.

But Vancouver battled back, and Abdur-Rahim, who scored 15
points in the fourth quarter, gave the Grizzlies their first
lead since the second quarter on a shot in the lane, making it
86-85 with 38 seconds remaining. Antoine Carr's six-footer gave
Utah an 87-86 lead with 25 seconds to go.

"I was very proud of the way our team played in the second half.
Coming from 13 down in the fourth quarter, it's just a shame we
didn't get an opportunity on the last play to win it," said
Vancouver coach Brian Hill. "We had a little bit of a breakdown
on their last play, and that really decided the outcome of the
game.

"Without question, that's a real tough one to lose, especially
when certain guys did all they could to win. Shareef did a
helluva job down the stretch, just trying to carry the team on
his back. In a way I kind of feel that we let him down."

Malone had 26 points and 13 rebounds and Stockton 20 points and
seven assists for Utah, which also defeated Vancouver 98-90 in
Salt Lake City on November 12th and improved to 7-8 on the road.

Abdur-Rahim added 10 rebounds, Bryant Reeves 13 points and 10
boards and Daniels 13 and 10 assists for Vancouver, which has
lost five of its last six games.

"I knew we couldn't celebrate too soon because they've been in
that situation a thousand times," said Abdur-Rahim. "The
younger guys on this team like myself and Antonio are going to
look back at this eight or nine years from now and it'll be us
in that situation. We'll look over at the young guys and just
laugh and then go get the win."

Utah's biggest lead of the third quarter was 62-48 with 2:42 to
go on a free throw by Adam Keefe. The Jazz took a 67-58 lead to
the fourth quarter.

The Jazz gained control in the second quarter with a 16-3 spurt
over the final 6:10 that gave them a 46-33 halftime lead.